Concetta Flore- Swallows on mudbank

Last sunday I was relaxing by the Lake of Bracciano,not very far from Rome (Italy) miserably low since last year's terrible drought. The emerged sand and silt banks have been colonized by vegetation and fauna, and swallows are benefiting from the abundance of bugs and worms. They land and start pecking the moist sand, and fly to the nest with worms dangling from their beaks. Lovely to sit by in the midst of their chirping acrobatics, and let my pencil follow them.

Visit to Vermont

A few weeks ago, I went on a small trip to Vermont for the weekend. I only managed to make one sketch though, as I was busy taking care of my baby the whole time. I did this sketch overlooking the lake while sitting on the balcony high above the ground.

I did manage to take some photos though, including some closeups of a family of ducks. I was amazed that they let me get so close to them. Even though I did not get a chance to do the sketching I would have liked, I left feeling very inspired by the landscape.

©2012 Carolyn A Pappas, 8-4-12, Lake Eden, VT. Pen in large handbook sketchbook.
 

Painting Outdoors

©2012 Carolyn A Pappas, Outdoor Watercolor Sketch. Watercolor in small watercolor moleskine.


I have a small confession to make. This is the first time that I have painted watercolor outdoors. In the past I have always done sketching in ink or pencil and then painted indoors later, or have looked out the window to paint. 


This little sketch doesn't seem like much, but it was really exhilarating for me. It was about seven o'clock in the evening and I sat on the back porch to paint this. There were dark clouds and the sun was filtering through, reflecting yellow light onto the water. 


The wind was blowing my stuff all over the place! I can't believe I waited this long to try painting outdoors and I can't wait until I get another chance.

At the water's edge

After I put my daughter down for bed yesterday, I sneaked outside and I sketched the grass and rocks at the edge of the water. It was just starting to get chilly and slightly dark when I went back inside.

 
©2012 Carolyn A Pappas, At the water's edge (6-17-2012). Graphite in sketchbook.

Some January Sketches

Here are some recent sketch experiments of the lake. The weather this winter has been very mild so far. From time to time the lake has started to form a skin of ice. It hasn't frozen solid though as we've had many days in the forties and even fifties. It snowed about two inches yesterday; a wet, slushy snow. This morning everything was blue and it was super foggy.

Tina Mammoser has done some nice abstract drawings of the (New) Jersey Shore. You should check them out.

Sketching the Lake

©2011 Carolyn A. Pappas, 12-15-11 Lake Sketch. Colored pencil in large handbook sketchbook.

I bought some Derwent Coloursoft pencils recently and I did some sketching of the lake yesterday to try them out. I had never used these pencils before but I can tell that they are my new favorites. I love their buttery texture. They also have a ton of muted, nature inspired colors that are great for nature sketching.

It was a rainy, windy and overall gray day. I really wanted to try out a lot of different colors though so I wasn't entirely accurate in my color choices.

Birds on the Lake

©2011 Carolyn A. Pappas, Birds on the Lake (9-12-11). Pen in large handbook sketchbook.

I was lucky enough to see some water birds when we were taking our last boat ride on the lake for the year. There is a family of three swans (two adults and one juvenile) that I've been noticing swimming around the lake. After doing some reading, I think these are mute swans because they have a knob on their forehead. At the bottom of the page, I sketched some ducks, which look like little blurs because they were moving so fast.

I also spotted a heron on the water's edge (lower right). This particular heron likes to walk along our shoreline and fish from our dock. Before we took the boat out of the water, I spotted it climbing onto the boat to fish! Even though he moves very slowly, I was still only able to make stick figure like sketches of it (see below).


©2011 Carolyn A. Pappas, Heron on the Move (9-13-11). Pen in large handbook sketchbook.

Hartebeespoort Dam - Maree

“Water is life's mater and matrix, mother and medium. There is no life without water.”
- Albert Szent-Gyorgyi


"Hartebeespoort Dam"

I've written so much about the area of Hartebeespoort Dam (in the North-West Province of South Africa), where I love to go and sketch, that I decided to post this large painting I did of the dam late in 2009. From where you're sitting looking at the pic on the screen, would be about where the Squire's restaurant is. We normally sit on the deck with this wonderful view of the dam and I had the whole restaurant in uproar, setting up my easel on the edge of the deck and painting this scene! Hubby was slightly uncomfortable in the beginning, but then settled in, bringing me my glass of Coke Light from time to time!

Utica Reservoir in California's Sierra Nevada-Gay Kraeger

Every summer my neighborhood goes camping at a small lake in the Sierra Nevada. We take all the dogs, kids and grandkids. The kids are growing up now, but they still want to come. My neighbor's 20 year old son was counting the days until we left. My daughters are in their 30s and they still come if they can.

The lake is surrounded by granite, so our week is made up of canoeing, relaxing on the rocks, swimming in the cold water, (not me too much. I don't like to get cold.) and other fun stuff.


For this page I took one of the kayaks out to try and draw the boulders on the edge of the lake. The wind was blowing and I kept drifting past my rock. I had to stop drawing and paddle back upwind from the rock and start drawing again as I drifted by. I had to do this a few times to get the whole rock drawn. I colored it in when I got back to the campsite.


We went on a hike to Lake Alpine, on Highway 4. We didn't go on the paved road. We walked up a 4-wheel drive road that I can't believe anyone would take a vehicle on. We stopped for a few minutes on the way back so I whipped out my sketchbook and drew a little more granite. The blackbirds kept me company as I colored back in camp.

Vermont Sketching-Carolyn Ann Pappas

A few weeks ago I was in Vermont visiting with family and I made these sketches of Lake Eden. I was meaning to post them here when I got back but I got preoccupied with other things. I LOVED being up in Vermont. It was a wonderful time and a different landscape from what I usually see in Massachusetts.

Here is a photo of me making the sketches. I was concentrating because it was going to start to rain and I was a bit squinty eyed!

Smoky Moon

Smoky Moon

Tuesday evening the moon was a brilliant yellow-orange crescent in the sky, colored and softened by the recent fires along Alligator Alley that have filled our atmosphere with smoke and haze. The fire was ignited the previous Tuesday by a lightning strike and burned about 34 square miles of land, to both the north and south sides of the Alley.

Contrary to its name, Alligator Alley is not a small road, it’s also Interstate 75. It crosses the state of Florida in an east-west direction linking the cities of Naples and Ft. Lauderdale. Last week, state officials closed the entire Alley because of this fire for several days, and just recently reopened it.

I live in Naples, and all week we’ve smelled the burning and squinted through the hazy brightness. Last Thursday I watched feathery flakes of ash fall around me as I worked outside. The ash was carried by winds aloft. We are not in danger, but it’s a remarkable thing to hold the possible remnants of a cypress tree or slash pine in your hand, and wonder if it’s from the Big Cypress National Preserve several miles away.

Fire is a part of the natural ecological cycle in Florida, and this is a vulnerable time of year. Factors like dry winds, low humidity and low water tables join with extremely dry vegetation to create the perfect environment for combustion. All it takes is a source of flame. This time of year a motorist will be ticketed for throwing out a cigarette butt from a car window.

This sketchbook painting is a composite of scenes: my memory of that vivid waning moon and the hazy skies, and a setting from a recent visit to the Cecil B. Webb Wildlife Management Area.

Rain Coming at Satterwhite Point

Rain Coming at Satterwhite Point 2
Originally uploaded by linfrye

Daily Practice
Plein Air

This is a view of the lake and the changes we experienced the other day over an hour's time. From sunshine to gusty winds to billows of darkening clouds to sheets of rain ... whew! I turned my view to paint this a bit more toward the water than the thicket to focus on the changes in the water color. Some of this was painted from the dryness of the car!

I'm finding myself, after almost 3 1/2 years of daily sketching, returning once again to plein air and small nature pieces. My sketchbook has shrunk to its original size - close to 7 x 10, I'm carrying a smaller pallette, and I'm trying to unfussy what goes on the paper.

If I try to examine my motives, I suspect that the intensity of my days is taking their toll in fatigue and often frustration, thus, returning to my source of inspiration and restoration -- nature -- seems to be calling.

I am reminded of the words of a song by John Denver -- "To the Wild Country" .... "I'll find peace there, to the wild country, where I belong" .... seems there are a lot of us here! LOL

PS For some reason, I am having the most difficult time posting comments... we're trying to resolve the problem ... sigh ..

Satterwhite Point, North Carolina

Daily Practice

Plein Air

Thank you so very much for the invitation, Kate!! Like you have found and so aptly described, nature is where I go for restoration, peace, and inspiration. I am honored to be part of this group, one that especially recognizes and expresses her beauty.

The day began with wonderful sun and warm temps. C and I packed up the car and headed to a lake about 35 miles from home that neither of us had been to in over 15 years ... (I know! I know! LOL). We drove around the area remarking about the changes. We disembarked several times as we watched fishermen and fisherladies on the lake being tossed about by the furious wind that seemed to beat us to the water.

We settled on a spot on the backside of the lake where the wind was kept at bay by the trees. C pacticed his guitar and I sketched the view before me -- deciding that I needed to hurry a bit in case that wind was going to catch up with us. I went straight in with the watercolor - keeping things simplified.
I loved this wee spot overlooking the lake. We were joined by several folks we 'tried' to fish .. but gave up after a while as the wind began changing direction and blowing more strongly.

After about 30 minutes, both C and I noticed that the clouds were darkening; and the wind, gusting more, was far cooler. When one gust came seemingly out of nowhere and blew my paints across the picnic table, we decided to pack up and head to the car.....just in time.

The rains came then, furious, cold and gusty. I was able to capture the majority of the changes in the lake in my sketchbook before we left -- I'll post those later.

Today looks like another beauty! I'm thinking we may head out again or work a bit in the garden. I really like this 'resting' thing!